Giants stocked with young arms

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, March 22, 2003

Brian Sabean's strategy of concentrating on pitchers in the draft has paid off with a quality group of young pitchers, some ready now, others in the pipeline for the Giants' future.

The downside to Sabean's strategy is that the Giants have not been very successful at developing position players, but the general manager has been able to pick up veterans, such as Ray Durham, Edgardo Alfonzo, Jose Cruz Jr. and Marquis Grissom in the offseason, to fill holes.

Scouting is not an exact science, but when the Giants have made errors in evaluating young pitchers, Sabean and his top evaluator, Dick Tidrow, have spotted those errors quickly and traded them away, former No. 1 picks Joe Fontenot and Jason Grilli among them.

More recently, the Giants' evaluation of pitching prospects has been excellent. This year, the Giants have four pitchers listed among the top 100 prospects in the Baseball America evaluations. Three have been in spring training with the Giants: Jesse Foppert (5); Jerome Williams, who has been optioned out (50); and Kurt Ainsworth (64).

Further away but still strong prospects are Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano (83), the only left-hander in the group. Liriano was signed as an outfielder, but quickly switched to the mound because of his strong arm. Erick Threets, another left-hander, may throw even harder than Liriano, but the location of the plate is often a mystery to him, so he's a longshot.

Foppert and Ainsworth are battling Ryan Jensen for the fifth starter's job. There could be another spot open if Livan Hernandez is traded. Many fans would like to see that happen, but Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, an astute judge of pitchers, thinks it would be a mistake.

"(Livan's) problem is strike one," Krukow said. "He doesn't have the confidence to throw a 'f -- you' pitch for the first strike. He thinks he has to nibble. That sometimes happens when a pitcher loses that 90-plus fastball. He thinks he has to be too fine.

"I think Mark Gardner (now the bullpen coach) will help him. Gardner wasn't afraid to throw that first pitch for a strike, and he won with less than average stuff because he knew how to pitch. Livan is still a young man (28), and I think he can turn it around with Mark's help."

Whatever happens with Hernandez, though, the Giants' future is clearly with the younger pitchers.

Ainsworth, a star on the U.S. Olympic team in 2000, has seemed nearly there for three seasons. He battled Jensen for the fifth spot in the rotation last spring and narrowly lost out.

In the past, Ainsworth has seemed to lack the confidence he needed. Jensen isn't as impressive physically, but he won the competition last spring because of his strong determination.

Krukow sees a change in Ainsworth this spring. "He came to camp with the attitude that he belongs," Krukow said. "That's the kind of attitude you want to see in a pitcher."

Ainsworth has an option left, but he has nothing more to learn at Triple-A, so it would be a slap in the face if he were sent down again.

Foppert has been a big story because he has come on so fast since being drafted in the second round in 2001, but he's probably a year away, Krukow thinks.

"He's got such a smooth motion that his fastball is on you so fast, at 95 miles an hour, that he can throw it past a hitter. But he needs a third pitch to be a starter. He can get through a lineup once, but hitters would catch up with him after that. He could pitch long relief, but if they want him to start in the big leagues, he'll have to go down to work on that third pitch."

The Giants are planning to use Joe Nathan, who is out of options, in long relief, so they won't keep Foppert in that role. His potential as a starter, after more minor-league innings, is too great.

Krukow was very impressed by Williams, whose early demotion was primarily because he's the youngest of the prospects at 22.

"He doesn't have quite as good a fastball as Ainsworth, but he's got four pitches he can get over the plate, which is remarkable for a young pitcher."

Williams and Foppert are not quite there yet, but with them and Bonser and Liriano lined up behind Jensen and Ainsworth, the Giants have the young pitching that should keep them in contention for years to come.